Roofing shingles are typically stacked together and packaged in a rectangular bundle for storage or shipping. Plastic wrap (e.g., nylon and polyethylene films, and combinations thereof) has become the packaging material of choice for bundling shingles because the plastic is water proof and has sufficient strength to maintain the integrity of the stacked bundle, while at the same time being easy to open to access the shingles.
In the conventional method of shingle packaging, a section of plastic wrap is folded around a shingle bundle and the wrapped bundle is sent through an oven on a conveyor. The oven is maintained at a temperature sufficient to cause the perimeter edges of the wrap that are folded over onto the remainder of the wrap to bond therewith and seal the shingle bundle within the wrap. In this process, it is often difficult to seal the wrap over opposed end portions of the shingle bundle. Even if a good seal is achieved, it is often results from the use of an excessive overlapping amount of plastic wrap, which increases the expense of shingle packaging and forms a more bulky packaged product.
It is therefore desirable to implement a shingle packaging solution where strong end seals are formed while only using the minimum amount of plastic wrap necessary. This will provide a reliable solution while keeping packaging material costs as low as possible.